Leeds Nest Watch

Monday, 8 March 2010

Sad news- It became apparent over the weekend that Mavis has abandoned her nest. The nest looks a bit smashed up and the eggs are gone so my best guess is that the nest has been raided by a magpie. Its a little bit sad, but in truth it was unlikely that the nest would ever succeed. If the chicks did hatch, fledging from that high level with the busy road underneath would have been perilous!

Thursday, 4 March 2010

Today has been beautifully sunny and Mavis (yes she is now called Mavis thanks to @mariemillward on twitter) has been sat enjoying the sun. I bet this spring like weather has been a welcome relief as the nights have been bitterly cold this week, dropping below freezing at times. She kindly turned around this morning so I could get a photo of her face.Also we are now up to 4 eggs!

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

Here she is today, watching the morning traffic. Its a really busy road that she has chosen to live by, its one of the main routes into the city and its near to the ambulance station so there are sirens blaring day and night. We have the luxury of double glazing that cuts most of it out- she doesn't.I have also been thinking more about what she is and I am now leaning more towards Jan's suggestion that she is a song thrush as according to the books and websites I have looked at, starling females are not brown.In this zoomed in view you can see a bit clearer the speckles on her chest. I have been using this Bird Identifier tool from the RSPB which has helped a bit. I really need her to stand up next to the nest so I can see her properly.

I am waiting to see if she will leave the nest this morning- I want to see if she has laid any more eggs.

Looking out of my window last week I noticed a birds nest perched precariously on top of a lamp post. It was just a bare ring of twigs and I wasn't sure if it was new or just an old one I hadn't noticed before.

Over the course of last week I noticed the nest was growing, the sides being built up and the inside getting padded with moss and grass.

Then this morning I saw her, sat in the nest...I am yet to work out what she is, my best guess so far is a starling, but its really hard to see her against the nest, and my camera is not good enough to get a decent photo.